Clay, mothers and a bus stop: Sian Bush’s South East Cornwall plans

Sian Bush has a knack for turning clay into connection. A neglected village bus stop, a group of home-educated children, a room full of mothers who barely get a moment to themselves. The Cornish community artist has three separate projects taking shape across South East Cornwall this year, and they all run on the same idea, that making something together is good for the people who make it. One of them is about to leave a permanent mark on a village.

Lowen Kyttrinva, the Joyful Bus Stop

That mark will land in Darite, near Liskeard, where a tired block-built bus stop at the heart of the village is set to be covered in a colourful mural and handmade ceramic tiles this autumn, all made by the people who use it. The project is called Lowen Kyttrinva, or Joyful Bus Stop. The shelter is used every day by schoolchildren, commuters and older residents, yet its current state, Sian says, makes the space feel neglected and unwelcoming.

The plan is to change that through a series of workshops open to everyone in the village. Residents will help design the artwork, make ceramic tiles by hand, prepare and decorate the structure, and install the finished piece. The idea is that people keep an eye on the space long after the last tile goes up, taking on its care as something they made themselves.

Funding has come from Feast, the Creative Kernow grants scheme, with match funding from St Cleer Parish Council, the authority that covers Darite. The proposed budget is £2,000, split between £850 for materials and £1,150 for the workshops and installation. Darite Village Hall has offered free use of its facilities for the sessions, and Sian says the project has already drawn 40 positive responses from residents through village social media and written feedback.

There is a practical argument behind the colour, too. A cared-for space, the thinking goes, is far less likely to attract vandalism or misuse than a neglected one. The bus stop is one of the most visible spots in Darite, and the hope is that a piece of public art made by the whole village will give people a reason to feel proud of it.

The artist behind the tiles

Sian Bush is based on the edge of Bodmin Moor and works in pottery, print and floral design. She studied at Arts University Plymouth, Bournemouth Institute of Art and Falmouth School of Art, and holds a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Falmouth along with a teaching qualification in further education. In 2021 she set up Pottery & Posies, which brings together pottery, printmaking and sustainable floristry.

Much of her work sits in areas of social need. She has run sessions for charities and community groups supporting vulnerable adults and children, including people living with learning difficulties, loneliness, and the effects of domestic abuse. Her teaching style is learner led, and she is fond of saying that missteps and mistakes are worth treasuring as stepping stones rather than failures.

Her largest project so far was a tiled mural at Newquay Orchard in early 2025, where she ran seven sessions that brought in 115 people to make tiles for a permanent installation on the main building. Feedback from that project pointed to a 33 per cent rise in participants’ feelings of confidence, creativity and belonging, and a 25 per cent rise in how happy and connected to their local area they felt.

Clay and Connect in Liskeard

The bus stop is one of three things Sian has on the go. At the Liskerrett Centre in Liskeard she runs Clay and Connect, a pottery project for home-educated children and their families, funded by Cornwall Community Foundation. That funding runs out in September, and Sian is looking for a way to keep the group going beyond then.

Mammik Potter, a village for mothers

The third project is still taking shape. Mammik Potter, which takes its name from the Cornish term of affection for a mother, is a monthly creative meet-up designed to bring together mothers of all ages in the Liskeard area. The aim is to give women a space to reconnect with their own sense of self, away from the day-to-day pressures of parenting, and to rebuild something of the “village” that Sian says many mothers no longer have around them.

Older members would offer support to women dealing with the empty nest, perimenopause and menopause, while also lending a hand to younger mothers finding their feet. The sessions draw on Sian’s earlier work with WILD Young Parenting, Cornwall Women’s Centre and the Active Looking Project, as well as a group for new mothers she once ran in Liskeard called Wear & Walk. She hopes to run it free of charge, once a month for a first year, at a local venue such as the Liskerrett Community Centre, Liskeard Library or the Town Hall.

Sian is still seeking funding for Mammik Potter, but the appetite seems to be there. A single post on a local community noticeboard has been engaged with more than 100 times, and she has since gathered over 40 names of women wanting to hear when it launches. Among the messages she has had back is one from a woman who had only just moved to the area:

“I have only just moved to the area. I would love a group like this. I have a baby who is 2 and I just had a miscarriage last week unfortunately.”